There are some absolutely appalling stories regarding medical malpractice cases.
Many cases can be serious, but some are unbelievable. Once you know about these, you may be afraid to ever go under the knife!
Below are some of the top seven most serious cases of this past decade:
- In 2014, Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, had to payout a $190 million lawsuit to over 9,000 patients for failing to supervise gynecologist Nikita Levy. Levy was employed at the hospital from 1988 to 2013, and it was determined he used surveillance equipment to secretly photograph his patients through use of a camera pen. He was fired in 2013 and committed suicide less than two weeks later.
- The city of New York and the FDNY EMS were ordered to pay $172 million in 2014 to Tiffany Applewhite following an incident in 1998. An ambulance that arrived to pick up the 12-year-old girl wasn’t equipped with advanced life support equipment. These delays caused her to become brain damaged.
- $77 million was awarded to a family of a 3-year-old boy when obstetrician and gynecologist, Shahram Razman, in Westchester, New York, was accused by the family of unnecessary delays during childbirth. The family claims Dr. Razman’s error left the child with cerebral palsy due to insufficient oxygen supply to the brain.
- Winthrop University Hospital was directed to pay 34-year-old Stacey Galette $62 million in 2014. Galette had surgery for an ectopic pregnancy. Following this surgery she spent months in intensive care and suffered three cardiac arrests. She also suffered from skin grafts, bilateral below the knee amputation, and ended up with a colostomy. The jury found the treating physicians guilty of deviating from the accepted standards of care.
- Ferdinand A. Ofodile, a plastic surgeon in Queen’s County, New York, was ordered to pay Bronx resident Allison Hugh $60 million in 2010 after a thigh lift procedure left her with permanent deformities of the labia of her vagina. The jury said the doctor failed to advise her of the potential risks of this procedure and that the proper surgical technique wasn’t used.
- 42-year-old Kathleen Ramey of Palm Beach County, Florida, was awarded $37 million from Dr. Andrew D. Weiss due to permanent injuries resulting from a steroid shot to the spine that allegedly led to the formation of a fluid filled cavity, leaving her limping and crippled. It’s expected that one day she will never be able to walk again.
- In 2010, Christian Arroyo of Chicago, Illinois, was awarded $29.1 million from Northwestern Memorial Hospital due to negligence in obstetric and neonatal care at the time of his birth. His mother didn’t receive the necessary antibiotics which lead to infection and permanent brain damage for Christian. He remains tube fed and wheelchair bound.